Insects help keep New York City Clean: Study

December 4, 2014 2:47 AM

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Researchers from North Carolina State University found that insects in New York play an important role in garbage disposal system of the city. According to them, waste food with mass equal to 60,000 hot dogs a year is consumed by insects at the Broadway/West St. corridor. The study team estimated that nearly 2,100 pounds of food waste each year is consumed by insects.

Measured amounts of hot dogs, cookies and potato chips were kept by researchers at 21 park sites and 24 street medians. This was done to estimate how much food is consumed by bugs. The team visited the areas after 24 hours and checked the amount of food that was consumed.